Good Board for AMD X2 3800 / Opteron 165?

[ruben00]

Im looking at the Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe or the Asus A8N5X

I really dont plan to OC for now, but in the future, if I dont feel like building a new rig, then I would OC this one just for the hell of it.

I like asus, im using asus right now on my old intel system, and now that im building a new system, im using an AMD X2 3800 and I want a motherboard but im not sure which one...oh, and I dont care much for the Double SLI video card thing, if its there, thats nice, if its not, its ok, but i dont plan on using the 2 video card thing so its not that important

What I want to build basically is an AMD X2 3800 and Use an ATI video card (I love ATI )

 

[mpjesse]

The A8N-SLI Deluxe is ok... the problem is there's still old models floating out there with a faulty northbridge fan. If it fails you can return it, but it's a hassle.

I would suggest getting the A8N-SLI Premium or A8N-E instead. The A8N5X is fine as well.

Just stay away from the A8N-SLI Deluxe as prozac suggested.

-mpjesse

 

[GreenDragon]

New computer being built & I am going with the A8N-SLI Premium & a X2 4400+

Bob F

 

[ruben00]

What would I do without you guys....You all rock, thanks for the responses

 

[Crashman]

vCore droop on their A64 boards too? Wow, Asus is really in the crapper for like 2 years now!

 

[ruben00]

What does that mean?

 

[Crashman]

An issue that started out as a rumor and was first officially published in my P4C800-E Deluxe review at SysOpt. I noticed on that board, that increasing the vCore past 1.60v would destabilize it. The issue was not found on new boards but became obvious within one month of use.

If Asus's A64 boards are doing a similar thing at a lower voltage, well, that's an indictment of Asus's slipping standards. I now recommend Foxconn over Asus when quality is more important than features.

 

[INeedCache]

I'll chime in and second Crashman's recommendation of Foxconn boards. They aren't the best overclocking boards, but they aren't bad for all but the most avid and adventurous overclockers. They are of excellent quality and rock solid. They have a nice SLI board, the NF4SK8AA-8EKRS. You can check it out at http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_motherboard_2.cfm?pName=NF4SK8AA-8EKRS. Here's a link to a review, if you're interested:
http://www.overclockersonline.com/?page=articles&num=299&pnum=0

 

[ruben00]

Well,

here is the thing guys, I like ATI video cards, and after asking in the Video card forum, i decided to get the X850XT, which for $220 is great...

I never intended to use SLI feature, if anything, i would use the ATI version called crossfire, but i wont even be using that, im only going to be using 1 video card...

if the motherboard supports dual cards, its a great option for the future, but for now i wont be using it.

so even though I love the features of the A8N-SLI Deluxe, It's no good to me, unless I can still use my ATI card on it in a single card setting...

any other recommendations? oh, and it doesnt have to be asus

 

[Crashman]

You can use ATI cards with nVidia chipsets, in fact this works quite well! Single cards or dual cards will work, here's my latest ATI dual card configurations using the eVGA nForce4 SLI motherboard:

 

[ruben00]

WOW,

so you are saying that i can use ati cards in a dual configuration on an SLI motherboard?

 

[Crashman]

Yes. You can't run cross-fire or SLI mode, but you can easily run two ATI cards independantly on an SLI board, to get four displays:

 

[ruben00]

alright, that cool....

now here is another monkey wrench in the works....

i know the 3800 x2 will run on these boards just as good

but what about an opteron 165...even though is 1.8 ghz (i dont plan to OC)

how does the 165 benchmark/compare against the 3800?

and with the asus, will i have to get different memory or the same memory can be used for either the 3800 or the opteron

oh, i also found other posts mentioning the EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX, any word on it?

 

[HumbleGod]

An Opteron 165 for socket 939 will work fine on these boards. In fact, it tends to come more recommended than the x2 3800+ on these forums, since it's apparently better constructed, is more stable, and OCs very well. I was about to commit to an x2 3800 myself, but reading these forums convinced me to spring the extra few bucks for the 165. (Just don't get it on NewEgg, you can find it for much cheaper elsewhere.)

I'm also getting the SLI counterpart of that EPoX board (just in case...), but both come pretty well recommended. It's cheaper than the A8N SLI and has most of the important features of that board.

 

[Crashman]

Ah, but the Non-SLI version has a feature the SLI version doesn't!

 

[ruben00]

epox it is then, ty